Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, has stepped down, local reports said Tuesday. Citing "high ranking" sources, Al-Anbaa newspaper said Sheikh Mohammad, who has been foreign minister since 2003, "submitted his resignation on Monday and did not attend the cabinet meeting."

The resignation will only be considered official when it is accepted by Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The move came as Kuwait's opposition mounted a campaign demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah's government. According to AFP, the public prosecutor last month opened a probe into the bank accounts of 14 MPs in the 50-member parliament on allegations they received about US$350 million in "political" bribes.

It should be mentioned that prominent opposition lawmaker Mussallam al-Barrak threatened to make public classified documents about alleged overseas money transfers through Kuwaiti embassies. The opposition has alleged that some of the funds were transferred to bank accounts held by some MPs abroad.